Pablo Picasso

Paintings, Quotes, and Biography

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Pablo Picasso and his paintings

Pablo Picasso is probably the most important figure of 20th century, in terms of art, and art movements that occurred over this period. To say that Pablo Picasso conquered western art is, by today, the merest
usual place. Before the age of 50, the Spanish born artist had become the most well known name in modern art, with the most distinct style and eye for artistic creation. There had been no other artists, prior to Picasso, who had
such an impact on the art world, or had a mass following of fans and critics alike, as he did.

Although his art career spanned over a 7 decade period, Pablo Picasso is most known for his introduction of cubism, and modern approach to painting, which set forth the movements to follow in to the twentieth century. Not only
was his art form well ahead of his time, but the works he created went on to influence artists and painters down the line, for a period of more than 50 years, and still influences the styles of many artists today.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon was Picasso's first masterpiece which introduced the cubism form to the world. The painting depicts five naked women with figures composed of flat, splintered planes
and faces inspired by Iberian sculpture and African masks. The compressed space the figures inhabit appears to project forward in jagged shards; a fiercely pointed slice of melon in the still life of fruit at the
bottom of the composition teeters on an impossibly upturned tabletop. In this painting, Picasso makes a radical departure from traditional European painting by adaptation of Primitivism and abandonment of
perspective in favor of a flat, two-dimensional picture plane,

When Les Demoiselles d'Avignon first appeared, it was as if the art world had collapsed. Known form and representation were completely abandoned. Hence it was called the most innovative painting in modern art history.
With the new strategies applied in the painting, Picasso suddenly found freedom of expression away from current and classical French influences and was able to carve his own path.

Cubism becomes a form that was no longer intended to depict reality. Picasso and other Cubist painters rejected the inherited concept that art should copy nature, or that they should adopt the traditional techniques of perspective,
modeling, and foreshortening. They wanted instead to emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas. So they reduced and fractured objects into geometric forms, and then realigned these within a shallow, relieflike space.
In this way, Pablo Picasso truly transcended the art world, the way in which art came to be, and future works created by other artists that followed him.

Cubism, especially the second form, known as Synthetic Cubism, played a great role in the development of western art world. With his use of color, shape and geometrical figures, and his unique approach to depict images,
Picasso changed the direction of art for generations to come.

Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth." - Pablo Picasso

Another aspect of his works that differentiated Pablo Picasso from other artists of his time was the fact that his works depicted his personal feeling, as well as the outside world. He wasn't afraid to push boundaries of the human
mind. In 1937, following the Nazi Germany's bombing in Guernica, the artist created his most famous work Guernica. The work is considered as the most powerful anti-war statement of modern art. It was done
to showcase Picasso's support towards ending war, and a condemnation on fascism in general. From the beginning, Picasso chooses not to represent the horror of Guernica in realist or romantic terms. Key figures - a woman with
outstretched arms, a bull, an agonized horse - are refined in sketch after sketch, then transferred to the capacious canvas, which he also reworks several times. Dark color and monochrome theme were used to depict the trying times, and
the anguish which was being suffered. Guernica challenges the notions of warfare as heroic and exposes it as a brutal act of self-destruction. The works was not only a practical report or painting but
also stays as a highly powerful political picture in modern art, rivaled by a few fresco paintings by Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

Comical and fantasy were also the types of works that Picasso focused on, as his career moved forward. Graphic arts, ceramics, and sculptures, were the methods that he uses most, as opposed to painting and etched works,
which were the predominant choices early on in his career. During his life time, Picasso produced thousands of stage designs, illustrations, and a series of drawings, which represented these themes, and distinct styles.

Bad artists copy. Good artists steal." - Pablo Picasso

Towards the end of his career, Picasso enjoyed examining Classical works that had influenced his development over the years, and produced several series of variations of paintings of Old Master, including
Francisco Goya, Diego Velazquez, and Edouard Manet, the founder of modern traditions. Some of the most notable works he did,
include Massacre in Korea after Goya, Las Meninas after Velazquez, and Luncheon on the Grass after Manet. Many of these pieces are still
influential in the art world today; and, in fact, due to the vision and distinct creative style, are still among some of the most innovative pieces which have been introduced to the art world, even during recent years.

When Picasso died at age 91 in April 1973, he had become one of the most famous and successful artist throughout history. He is also undeniably the most prolific genius in the history of art. His career spanned over a 78 year period,
in which he created: 13,500 paintings, 100,000 prints and engravings, and 34,000 illustrations. Picasso was, and still is, seen as a magician by writers and critics, a metaphor that captures both the sense
of an artist who is able to transform everything around him at a touch and a man who can also transform himself, elude us, fascinate and mesmerise us.

I do not seek. I find. ” - Pablo Picasso

Now known as the father of modern art, Pablo Picasso has a major impact on the art work which is produced today and into the future. Picasso's free spirit, his eccentric style, and his complete disregard for what others thought of his work
and creative style, made him a catalyst for artists to follow. Picasso's originality touched every major artist and art movement that followed in his wake. Even as of today, his life and works continue to invite countless scholarly
interpretation and attract thousands of followers around the world. No one has achieved the same degree of widespread fame or displayed such incredible versatility as Pablo Picasso has in the art history.